How the Fed Can Cut Rates This Summer Without Cutting Rates
The Federal Reserve has more than one way to work its will on the economy. It could soon start using its more subtle tools to start nudging rates down. That still would have a real impact on businesses and households. The central bank most directly controls short-term rates by setting a target range for the federal-funds rate, the rate at which banks lend money to one another overnight. On Wednesday it left this target unchanged while saying that Fed policymakers on average expect to cut this rate range just once this year, down from an expectation of three times in March. But there are a plethora [...]